On June 2 the long-awaited trial began in Moscow's Tushinsky District Court of Vladimir Nekrasov, the reputed owner of Arbat Prestige, the largest chain of cosmetics stores in Russia and the CIS and his co-defendant, Semyon Mogilevich, (alias Sergei Shneider), a person wanted by the... MORE

On June 6-7 the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg had a far more somber atmosphere and a greatly reduced entertainment program than last year, when Russia was still portrayed as an "island of stability" in the sea of troubles. The central event was again the... MORE

Violence appears to be ratcheting up in yet another region of the North Caucasus - Kabardino-Balkaria. The republic's capital, Nalchik, was the scene of a large-scale rebel attack in October 2005 in which 35 law enforcement officers, 12 civilians and 92 rebels were killed, but... MORE

After the war with Georgia last August, Moscow has attempted to transform the Russian-dominated seven-member Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) - a loose alliance that has served mostly as a forum for security consultations - into a military organization that might counterbalance NATO. During the... MORE

With its 25,000 employees, four major production plants in as many German states, generating business for thousands of German suppliers and dealerships, and a traditional iconic status, Opel has become a highly sensitive issue in this election year in Germany. The company is loss-making and... MORE

A "friends-of-Putin" consortium is about to acquire the German automobile manufacturer Opel, a subsidiary of the bankrupt U.S. company General Motors. The move is seen as the largest industrial acquisition in Europe by Russian interests since 1991. It marks an advance in the expansion of... MORE

On May 24 in Tehran, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his counterpart in Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari signed an intergovernmental framework declaration on gas pipeline construction and gas deliveries from Iran to Pakistan. The declaration pledges support for the agreements of intent, signed by the... MORE

On May 24 Russian Prime minister Vladimir Putin visited the Sretensk Monastery's cemetery in Moscow, laying flowers on the graves of the White Russian generals Anton Denikin and Vladimir Kappel; emigre nationalist philosopher and the leading ideologist of the White cause Ivan Ilyin, emigre writer... MORE

Electricity cutoffs in the capital of Dagestan, Makhachkala, have become the focal point of social protest actions in the republic. The Dagestani electricity distribution company imposed restrictions on the supply of electricity in Makhachkala on May 21 and extended the restrictions to several other Dagestani... MORE

Russia's relationship with its former closest ally, Belarus, has reached a new low point following a bitter dispute. Moscow has apparently struggled to remain on good terms with Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenka -described by some as Europe's last dictator. Meanwhile, although both countries have attempted... MORE